Swanston Street

In city

Your experience of Swanston Street can be totally different depending on which side of the road you walk on. One side of the street is a grand boulevard lined with trees, and dotted with significant buildings and quirky public sculptures. The other side (the west side) seems overcrowded with discount stores, souvenir shops and fast-food outlets. Swanston Street is closed to cars other than taxis.

On the corner of Swanston and Collins streets is the prominent Melbourne Town Hall, a venue for various public events including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Opposite is a statue of Burke and Wills, the two explorers who set out on a doomed journey to find the fabled inland sea. On the corner of Bourke Street is the quirky sculpture, Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch. Swanston Street alsoboasts some fine historic buildings (see Grand old buildings, p. 137) , and further north is the StateLibrary of Victoria (see p. 131).